The benefits of the GOP tax cut haven’t found their way to upstate New York

GEDDES, NEW YORK — The Republican incumbents in upstate New York who voted for last year’s tax bill argue that it is already helping their constituents.

But those constituents — the same voters who will decide whether their representations go back to Capitol Hill in November — are still waiting.

“We don’t see much of a difference,” Gina Trump, who supports the president but is of no relation to him, told ThinkProgress.

“It does...

The Importance of Pairing Universal Health Care Coverage With Global Health Care Quality

In this Viewpoint, Don Berwick and colleagues summarize a 2018 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on global health care quality emphasizing that universal access will yield improvements in population health only when paired with quality reforms characterized by systems design, transparency, collaboration, anticipatory care, evidence-based decisions, and continuous feedback and learning.

Study finds Rubio’s plan to raid Social Security to fund paid leave would gut it

More than 4.5 million Floridians received Social Security benefits in 2017 — over 21 percent of its population. Had they taken part in their senator’s proposed “paid parental leave” scheme, they would be receiving quite a bit less.

For a while, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has been touting his idea to cut Social Security and use those funds to pay for new parents to receive two months of partially paid leave to care for their kids. He and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) an...

Medicare for All is popular among Democrats. But this doctor may be the only candidate who gets it.

There are more than a dozen doctors in Congress and none support Medicare for All. Rob Davidson, an emergency physician running for Michigan’s 2nd congressional district, could change that. 

Davidson’s full-throated support of a national government-run health care system not only deeply contrasts his opponent’s position — Republican incumbent Rep. Bill Huizenga doesn’t believe health care is a right — but also those of current doc...

Parkland mom wins school board seat and other election night stories you may have missed

Much of the coverage of Tuesday night’s primaries revolved around Andrew Gillum’s upset victory in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary. Gillum, the only non-millionaire or billionaire in the race, ran on the most progressive platform, including abolishing ICE and establishing Medicare for all.

If Gillum wins in November, he’ll be the first black governor of Florida. He becomes the third black gubernatorial nominee this election cycle, in addition to Stacey...

Representatives in hiding: campaigning as a Republican incumbent in upstate New York

UTICA, NEW YORK — Running for Congress as a Republican incumbent in 2018 is not an easy task. Running for Congress as a Republican in upstate New York in 2018 is, if anything, even more complicated.

New York as a whole is staunchly Democratic, but traveling north, and west, of New York City, the state looks and sounds much more like the Midwest. There are bluer college towns and smaller cities scattered across a half-dozen large congressional districts, as well as large swaths...